Who Ate All the Pies.....Rangers v Kilmarnock Preview

[cooponthewing 1,139]

The last time the two clubs met we were all off on a jaunt down to Killie on a Friday night. It was a superb second half equaliser from James Tavernier that provided a welcome piece of magic and a point that night after Kris Boyd lost two stone and ghosted past our defence to slot one under Wes in the first half. I've always enjoyed being down a Killie over the years, nipping into the Killie club and enjoying the famous Killie pie hospitality at half time. Out of all the away grounds in the SPL its by far my favourite, and to be honest the fans are the least hostile of any, most are actually very hospitable and make us feel welcome.

 

We meet again this Saturday after a difficult few games that have left many of us wondering what the future holds and some of us wondering where we can find the spark we have lost?. In truth the Betfred Semi Final at Hampden was always a big ask, however I feel the biggest surprise that day was that MW it would seem, was resigned to his fate long before kick off and imo he was aware that the possibility of another 4/5-0 drubbing would see him under serious pressure from some and therefore adjusted his team selection accordingly to minimise any damage. His after match comments provide evidence of this such was his relief and relative satisfaction with a 1-0 defeat.

 

I am writing this on Thursday morning after the match on Wednesday night, again we didn't take many of our chances, our final third is pretty non existent and we can only hope for improvement v Kilmarnock on Saturday. There has never in my lifetime been any animosity between Rangers and Kilmarnock and we look forward to inviting them to Ibrox on Saturday. We need to find a spark from somewhere?. Its sadly missing and if we are honest the injury to Nico was a dreadful piece of timing and a terrible setback. He was the one player with that piece of quality, the bit of magic to change a game. We go into the match with many questioning the wisdom of MW and DW, and indeed the pressure is mounting, to suggest its not would be foolish. However we need to ask ourselves what would someone else do with the same resources at the moment? Its not a question of what MW did with the transfer budget in the summer, not at the moment anyway as no matter who is there we still have the same squad of players. Personally I feel that yes questions are there to be answered, I know we are not what many were expecting, myself included, and its hard work to watch at times but we are Rangers Supporters, we are there to support the team and right now the team needs that support. I sincerely hope that on Saturday, win, lose or draw, the fans get behind the team. I know there is much apathy amongst us at the moment and the Atmosphere at Ibrox can be dreadful, lets not make it worse though by draining the players of what little confidence they have and try and immerse some positive energy in their direction, lets be honest, it cant be any less effective than some of the anxious cries from the stand last night.

 

Its difficult to pick a side at the moment as I'm not sure who will be fit or not on Saturday but I would start with Gilks in goal, I felt apart from a terrible mistake in the fist half v Celtic he had an excellent game and Wes has made several errors during the season and he is still not the quickest getting down. I would go with a back four of Tavernier, Hill, Wilson/Kiernan and Hodson. Wallace needs dropped or rested, whatever way MW wants to spin it. Midfield of Halliday(Captain) Holt and Windass and up front Forrester, Garner and Miller. This leaves us both MOH and Mckay to bring on for pace around the 60/70 min mark should we need them. This brings me to Garner. I have slated this guy for weeks, and I saw something last night. Energy and commitment, especially after his goal in the first half. I don't mind eating my words especially when it comes to Rangers. I hope it wasn't a one off and he continues to progress and get in about defences. He does look more like a player playing in a two but he has the perfect model in Kenny miller to learn from, he certainly has the energy, even at 28 Garner can still learn from a man who will be 37 this December and still has bundles of energy.

[Davie P 4]

I thought MoH played reasonably well last night, considering he hasn't started too many matches this season. I would be inclined to keep him in rather than Miller, even if is just to utilise his pace against Steven Smith, who I assume will be at left back for Killie?

[JFK-1 1,693]

I have felt for sometime that at this stage in his career Miller might be better deployed as a second half substitute. Coming on at a time when opposition legs are somewhat tiring while he is fresh and which could put him on a more level playing field so to speak with guys considerably younger than he is.

[Scott7 6,009]

Good stuff, Coop.

 

You might have felt a wee bit of animosity if you'd been around when big Jimmy Brown was in goals for them lording it in his red jersey the six yard box and big Willie Toner hacking all,and sundry.

 

I was fine 'til I started this and now I'm raging. Come 'Gers. Get wired intae they pie munchers.

[limeburner 0]

I live down that neck of the woods.killie fans hate us with a passion,trust me.

[Tannochsidebear 2,408]

A couple of good points made in this thread already.

 

MW now has to try to tweek his side weekly as it seems everyone is inconsistent so far this season. Gilks deserves a run in the side for sure, but I think MW will stubbornly continue with the goalie who doesnt save but supposedly kicks well, although last night was untypically poor in that department as well.

 

Hodson has had his chance and blew it, Tav comes back in. Wallace is going to remain in the side anyway, and Kiernan is starting to listen and is improving his play. I have noticed him being far more aggresive and coming through and winning headers and tackles much more than previously, I hope he can continue with this improvement and there may yet be hope for him. Hill is a solid pro and is acting as on-field coach as well as centre half.

 

In midfield, I would like to see big Crooks in the side to give him a chance instead of Halliday. AH has lost his energy from last season, still doesnt offer any protection to the back 4, and is generally not available to take the pass from the keeper/centre halfs. Holt is our key midfielder and when he has a poorer game, like last night, the team suffers, but when he has a good game we look so much better. The third slot is tough, as Windass for me is nowhere near consistent enough. The odd 5 minutes of quality in amongst 85 minutes of dross is a luxury we cannot afford at our level. Perhaps best as an impact player. McKay may find the room in the middle of the park more to his liking than the wide areas, but his form this season has been poor, which I blame on going away with Scotland (Wallace too) and missing our pre-season work as a result. He was so important to the team that he played all our LC group matches when he should have been working on his pre-season. He looks like he is still playing last season and is knackered. I would give him two weeks off, then two weeks pre-season work and see if that gives him his spark back. With Rossiter/Barton/Nico all out we are struggling in midfield for the right blend.

 

MOH had a good game without troubling them much. He did get by his man continually, but too many times a last ditch lunge from a defender prevented a cross coming in, hence the number of corners we got last night. Perhaps needs more match sharpness. He has to be retained and told to go out and build on that performance. Garner is just a pest, always in the ref's ear and the defenders face, aggressive and combative. Again, he has to play again at CF to see if he can score again, and we can build from there. On the other flank Forrester had a mare but is probably worth another go as he has something about him, just nothing came off for him last night.

 

Glad its not me trying to pick the team!

[ian1964 10,724]

A couple of good points made in this thread already.

 

MW now has to try to tweek his side weekly as it seems everyone is inconsistent so far this season. Gilks deserves a run in the side for sure, but I think MW will stubbornly continue with the goalie who doesnt save but supposedly kicks well, although last night was untypically poor in that department as well.

 

Hodson has had his chance and blew it, Tav comes back in. Wallace is going to remain in the side anyway, and Kiernan is starting to listen and is improving his play. I have noticed him being far more aggresive and coming through and winning headers and tackles much more than previously, I hope he can continue with this improvement and there may yet be hope for him. Hill is a solid pro and is acting as on-field coach as well as centre half.

 

In midfield, I would like to see big Crooks in the side to give him a chance instead of Halliday. AH has lost his energy from last season, still doesnt offer any protection to the back 4, and is generally not available to take the pass from the keeper/centre halfs. Holt is our key midfielder and when he has a poorer game, like last night, the team suffers, but when he has a good game we look so much better. The third slot is tough, as Windass for me is nowhere near consistent enough. The odd 5 minutes of quality in amongst 85 minutes of dross is a luxury we cannot afford at our level. Perhaps best as an impact player. McKay may find the room in the middle of the park more to his liking than the wide areas, but his form this season has been poor, which I blame on going away with Scotland (Wallace too) and missing our pre-season work as a result. He was so important to the team that he played all our LC group matches when he should have been working on his pre-season. He looks like he is still playing last season and is knackered. I would give him two weeks off, then two weeks pre-season work and see if that gives him his spark back. With Rossiter/Barton/Nico all out we are struggling in midfield for the right blend.

 

MOH had a good game without troubling them much. He did get by his man continually, but too many times a last ditch lunge from a defender prevented a cross coming in, hence the number of corners we got last night. Perhaps needs more match sharpness. He has to be retained and told to go out and build on that performance. Garner is just a pest, always in the ref's ear and the defenders face, aggressive and combative. Again, he has to play again at CF to see if he can score again, and we can build from there. On the other flank Forrester had a mare but is probably worth another go as he has something about him, just nothing came off for him last night.

 

Glad its not me trying to pick the team!

 

Lot of words there just to say we are shite with shite players and a shite manager!

[aweebluesoandso 290]

I said on the other thread about last night's game, that i left Ibrox feeling frustrated. That was true, when i got in and after coming on here for a wee while i put on a recording of the final of The Great British Bake off, well that programme is a good metaphor for the way we are playing at the moment.

 

All the ingredients are there to bake a good cake or bread, MW puts the right measures of ingredients in, mixes it together, proofs it, then bakes it. Sometimes his bakes doesn't rise or looks flat, sometimes a hard or overcooked. It might even taste gash at times or it all comes together and looks and tastes great.

 

This is where the frustration comes in, Mark Warburton is a good baker, as his name would suggest, His preparations are good, his ingredients are good but something is not working, maybe his mixing is wrong or it's the proofing, but whatever time in the Kitchen is essential.

 

I want my cake and to eat it lol

Edited October 27, 2016 by aweebluesoandso

[pete 2,499]

I said on the other thread about last night's game, that i left Ibrox feeling frustrated. That was true, when i got in and after coming on here for a wee while i put on a recording of the final of The Great British Bake off, well that programme is a good metaphor for the way we are playing at the moment.

 

All the ingredients are there to bake a good cake or bread, MW puts the right measures of ingredients in, mixes it together, proofs it, then bakes it. Sometimes his bakes doesn't rise or looks flat, sometimes a hard or overcooked. It might even taste gash at times or it all comes together and looks and tastes great.

 

This is where the frustration comes in, Mark Warburton is a good baker, as his name would suggest, His preparations are good, his ingredients are good but something is not working, maybe his mixing is wrong or it's the proofing, but whatever time in the Kitchen is essential.

 

I want my cake and to eat it lol

 

Oh crumbs! He has to get it right though as that is the way he earns his bread. If he doesn't he'll get toasted.

[les186 271]

If Warburton's team does not achieve a victory on Saturday, it will call into question his tenure of the Rangers.